In April 2013, Hașotti incited controversy by declaring that he considers gay people to be "sick people". He also said that, "Homosexuality is not a normal state, it is not a natural relationship". The comments were made in the context of political debate about same-sex civil unions in Romania. Accept, Romania's national LGBT rights organisation, stated that they believed Hașotti's comments were a breach of anti-discrimination law and would report him to the National Council for Combating Discrimination.[2]
Early life and education
Puiu Hașotti was born on 14 June 1953 in Constanța, Romania.[3] He is an Aromanian.[4][5] Hașotti graduated from the Faculty of History, University of Bucharest in 1976 and received his doctorate in historical sciences in 1995. The year before he was a Fulbright Fellow at San Francisco State University. Before entering politics, Hașotti worked as a curator, principal curator, and then senior researcher (between 1976–1996). He also was a counsellor at Constanța County Inspectorate for Culture (1990–1995), and a lecturer at the University Ovidius Constanța, Faculty of History (1990–1996). He later gained an associate professorship at this institution, which he still holds.[3]